This invention relates to a golf bag top and club separator which organizes, retains, and protects the heads of golf clubs within individual slots.
Most golf bags include a top member which includes one or more partitions which form compartments. A plurality of golf clubs are inserted into each compartment. However, the heads of the clubs in each compartment remain free to shift about as the bag is carried, dropped, or lifted by a golfer or a caddie. The clubheads thereby become disorganized, and contact between the heads can cause the heads to become scratched.
Some efforts have been made to incorporate devices for retaining individual clubheads in a fixed position so that the clubheads remain organized and do not contact each other. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,207 describes a club retainer which is molded from resilient material and which includes wedge-shaped notches. The clubheads are releasably clamped within the notches. The clamping action apparently requires a different sized notch for each number of club.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,131 describes a first embodiment which includes a flat top surface and a plurality of inclined surfaces which extend upwardly from the top surface for supporting the faces of the clubheads. Each inclined surface extends at an angle corresponding to the loft angle of a particular number of club, so each club must be inserted into the proper place. A second embodiment is provided with indentations. The shape of each indentation is designed to accommodate a club having a particular loft angle.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,436,687 also describes a wedge type support which includes a plurality of fingers each of which is designed to cooperate with a particular club.